


Sweet Nothing

by summerpsycho



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, F/M, HSAU, High School AU, Multi, high school alternate universe, high school senior alternate universe, high school senior au, hssau, sau, senior alternate universe, senior au, senior year alternate universe, senior year au, syau
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-02
Updated: 2015-02-26
Packaged: 2018-03-10 05:28:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3278483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/summerpsycho/pseuds/summerpsycho
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carmilla SYAU (Senior Year Alternate Universe) (Or HSAU) (Whichever you prefer)<br/>Carmilla is still antisocial, Laura is still overly-excited, Danny is still jealous, Kirsch is still whipped, Will is still urging Carmilla to adjust and Perry is still hidden in the closet while LaF is stood outside the closet doors, holding her hand.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Started Over

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1 - Started Over  
> Introductions and smiles all round.

Sunglasses? Check. Book? Check. iPod? Check.  
She grabs her earphones and her iPod from her bag before zipping it shut, slinging it over her shoulder and leaving the house, half-slamming the door behind her (because she knows no one’s listening. Even if they were, they probably wouldn’t care.) She plugs her earphones in and starts walking.  
She doesn’t really know her way around town yet, (they’d only _officially_ moved here about a week ago) but she has a pretty good idea of where the school is. It’s only a ten minute walk (she thinks) anyways. She lets the sound of Arcade Fire drown out her early morning thoughts, but it doesn’t work too well. (When does it ever work)?  
She irritably turns the sound up, hoping she doesn’t go deaf by the end of senior year.  
She thinks about how long she’ll have to stay in this town before her parents drag her (and Will) to a new place. With more new people. A new school, a new house… (The list goes on).   
_Stop it._  
She’s 18 years old, and the longest period of time her and her family have stayed in the same place is, at most, a year. She tries not to think about the longest stay. The first and last time she ever settled.  
 _Stop thinking about it._  
The first and last time she got used to everything: But particularly, the first and last time she got attached.  
To that one person.  
 _Elle._  
She shakes her head, trying to avoid the thought.  
She shrugs off the thought (or at least tries to) when a car pulls up next to her. The window rolls down and her eyes automatically roll with it, “You do realise you have a car, right?” the driver says to her.  
She feels herself rolling her eyes again before responding, “Maybe I like the peace and quiet of an early morning walk.” “Or _maybe_ you just enjoy spiting our parents.” She scoffs, “Oh, _please._ It’s literally 7:30 in the morning, and I’m _really_ not in the mood for life lessons from my _younger brother.”_ She sees his brow furrow and feels a victory, “One minute. One _goddamn_ minute, Carmilla.” She laughs, “Don’t get your undies in a twist, little brother. We don’t want a repeat of freshman year, now, do we?” She doesn’t remove the sly grin from her face. Even when he slams his foot on the accelerator, speeding off down the road with a growl.  
She checks her watch. 7:34 am.  
She eye rolls once more and considers the idea of making a tally of how many eye rolls she can do in one day. She again, shrugs the thought off and continues to walk in the direction of her new school.  
  
New town. New school. New people.  
  
And _no_ attachments.  
  
 _Let’s see how long this lasts_ , she thinks to herself.  
  
                                                                                                                                * * *        
  
“So, did you guys hear about the new kids?” LaF asks the group. Laura frowns.  
New kids? We haven’t had new kids since freshman year.  
Before Laura can even question her friend, she’s interrupted by the loud boom of the Principal’s voice over the intercom, “Will Laura Hollis please report to the principal’s office. Thank you.” Her eyes widen and she stops, “Oh my God” “Laura-” Danny tries to speak but Laura cuts her off, “Oh my God. What have I _done? I can’t have this on my permanent_ _record!”_ Laura says, pacing now,  
“Laura, calm down-” Danny tries to cut in again, but she fails, “If this is bad, I might not be able to get into a good college,” she pauses, staring at her friends in horror, “I might not even get into college _at all!”_ Before her friends even try to calm her down again, she’s already running to the Principal’s office, trying to figure out a way for whatever she’s done to _not_ be put on her permanent record.  
  
“Principal Johnson, please don’t put this on my permanent record” He attempts to stop her but she continues, “Miss Hollis-” “I swear I’ll do _anything._ Please, Mr Johnson. My record is clean. I’ve handed in every homework assignment I’ve ever been given. I’ve never been late, I’ve always stood by the dress code and I’ve _never_ been issued a detention throughout my _whole academic career."_ He stops her now, raising his hand in front of her, _“Miss Hollis.”  
_ She snaps out of her frantic haze and he begins to reassure her, “Miss Hollis, you are not by any means in trouble.” She lets out the breath she was holding for at least ten minutes and the look of sheer panic fades from her face, confusion taking its place. “Oh. Well, uh, may I ask _why_ I’m here, then?” She asks, feeling slightly silly for freaking out. She can feel her cheeks turning red.  
“I called you here because we have two new students and I thought it would be wonderful if you could show one of them around.” Laura’s face lights up, “Yeah, sure! What’s their name?” A voice speaks up from the corner of the room, “My name’s Carmilla.”  
Laura turns to see a girl (probably her age, if not _slightly_ older) lounging in one of the Principal’s leather conference chairs. Carmilla stands up and Laura offers Carmilla her hand, “Hey, it’s nice to meet you. My name’s Laura. Laura Hollis.” “So I’ve heard.” Carmilla replies, taking her hand. Laura feels her cheeks go red and smiles at her.  
  
 _This should be interesting._  
  
                                                                                                                                * * *  
  
“Perry, LaF, overgrown baby and- Do I know you?” Danny says, seating herself next to LaFontaine. Kirsch rolls his eyes at her, “Nice to see you too, Summer Psycho. This is Will, my new bud. He’s one of the new kids so I’m showing him around and stuff.” Kirsch replies, gesturing to Will.  
Danny doesn’t even need to think of a comeback anymore. With Kirsch, the snarky remarks and sarcastic comments just came naturally.  
She turns to face will, placing her hand on top of his, “Good luck with tweedle-dumb. You’re gonna need it.” Will laughs slightly and Kirsch scowls at both of them. He directs his attention to Will, “Not cool, bro. Not cool.” He says, taking an angry bite out of his sandwich.  
Perry smacks Danny’s arm and Danny jumps, “Ouch! What the hell, _Lola?”_ Perry frowns, bringing her voice down to a whisper, “Stop being so _mean_ to him!” Danny rolls her eyes, “Oh, _please._ I’m sure he can take it. After all, he is a _big, strong, jock boy!”_ Danny says, directing her false smile at Kirsch. Perry sighs and Kirsch scowls at Danny.  
Danny didn’t see what the huge problem was. She and Kirsch _always_ did this. Why would today be any different? She shrugs the thought off and unzips her back, reaching in and rummaging around for her lunch.  
Finally, LaF breaks the tension, “So, Will,” they ask, “How’s your first day at Silas High going? Do you want to commit homicide yet?”  
He laughs at their joke and shrugs, “I mean, it’s not _that_ bad. Not yet anyways. I mean, I can’t really speak for my sister, though” He says, pointing his finger towards a girl in the far corner of the courtyard. She’s leaning against a wall and reading what looks like To Kill a Mockingbird.  
 _Laura’s favourite book._  
Speak of the devil, Laura is stood next to the girl, talking to her and looking overly excited, as per usual. She turns to face Will, trying to ignore her urge to look back at Laura. “I guess my sister just isn’t much of a fan of school. Or people, for that matter.”  
Danny looks back over to the girl and Laura (that didn’t last very long). She can’t help but feel a pang of jealousy. She decides to ignore it and raises her bottle of water in the air, “Well, I can cheers to that.”  
 _Apparently making jokes didn’t stop the jealousy. Or the constant need to want to keep Laura safe._  
  
                                                                                                                                * * *  
  
“So, like, it’s _totally_ cool if you have any questions?” Laura asks Carmilla. _Carmilla. What an interesting name._ Laura makes a mental note to ask her the origins of her name at some point. Laura gets no response from her and looks over to her.  
She has her face buried in a book. She shows no sign of actually hearing _or_ listening to Laura. Either she’s _really_ rude, or that book is _very_ interesting – Wait.  
 _That book._  
 _It's To Kill a Mockingbird._  
“You like her work?” She barely looks up from the pages, “Huh?” Laura taps the book, “Harper Lee. You like her work?” Carmilla finally looks up from the book and she looks shocked, “Yeah – To Kill a Mockingbird is-” “One of my favourites” they both say.  
Laura could swear she could see Carmilla’s face flush slightly. Laura shakes her head, “Uh, anyways, do you have any questions?” Carmilla half smiles and shakes her head, “No thanks, Cupcake.” She unzips her bag and shoves the book in there, “I’m gonna go now so, I’ll see you around.” Carmilla says, turning around.  
Laura stops her, “Wait! Won’t you need help with finding your classes?” Carmilla turns to face her and shrugs, walking backwards, “I’m sure I’ll be fine.” Laura frowns, “Well, uh, okay. I’ll see you in class?” Carmilla gives her a small nod, raising her hand in the air and signing what looks like those metal horns you’d usually see at a rock concert before plugging her earphones in, turning back around and heading off.  
Laura shrugs and searches the courtyard for her friends. She spots them sitting in their usual places and she heads over, sitting down next to Danny.  
“Hey, guys. So, _huge_ misunderstanding with Principal Johnson. I wasn’t in any trouble, he just wanted me to show one of the new kids around-” She stops herself when she realises there’s someone she’s never seen before sitting opposite her. “Oh, hey!” She sticks her hand out, “My name’s Laura. You must be new kid number two, right?” He nods, taking her hand and shaking it, “Will. My name’s Will.”  
She smiles at him before slowly squinting her eyes. “Wait a second… You look like someone I know…” She frowns, trying to think of _who_ he actually reminds her of, when he cuts into her train of thought, “Is that person Carmilla? We saw you showing her around. She’s my sister. Well, twin sister. But we don’t really look alike.”  
Laura’s face changes and she smiles, “You’re Carmilla’s brother?” He nods, “Well, if you have the same taste in books as you’re sister, I’m sure we’re going to get along just fine.” She smiles at him. He returns her smile, and the bell rings.  
 _Great._  
  
                                                                                                                               * * *  
  
LaFontaine sits at the back of the room, typing like crazy on their keyboard. AP Comp wasn’t even effort anymore. Not since they dedicated every inch of their life to the internet. They chuckle to themselves.  
“LaF. _LaF._ What’s the answer to number 6?” Laura asks them, poking at their arm. LaF rolls their eyes and emails Laura all of the answers. Laura shoots them a thumbs up before typing away at her own keyboard.  
LaF sighs, resting their chin on their hand. They look down at their phone, clicking the lock button and checking the time. There was at least a half hour left of the class.  
 _Oh, God._  
They decide to shoot Perry a text.  
  
 **Weirdo:** _Please save me from AP Comp.  
_ **Control Freak:** _I would if I could. Sorry sweetie._  
 **Control Freak:** _Do you want to come round later? We can binge watch every season of Breaking Bad._  
 **Weirdo:** _I love you so much._  
  
They lock their phone, the smile on their face still there by the end of class.  
  
  
“You know what makes me sad?” LaF says, sighing and turning in their chair to face Perry. “Doritos without dip?” LaF grins, _“That._ And pre-calc.” Perry laughs and nods.  
LaF watched her every move. It genuinely shocked them sometimes how in love they were with this girl. They were going to spend the rest of their life with this girl. LaF grins at the thought before turning back around and attempting to finish the problems on the sheet of paper they’d been given. They bite on the end of their pencil and frown at the paper.  
 _This is way too easy_ , they thought.  
 _I must be doing it wrong._  
They turn around to speak to Perry again before realising Miss Carlson was stood in front of them, peering at their work. LaF is sure that they audibly gulp, because Miss Carlson’s eyes are on them within a second. “LaFontaine,”  
They make a mental note to thank their parents for writing a letter to every teacher in the school, informing them on their preferred pronouns and what to refer to them as.  
“Your work is remarkable. Have you ever considered joining the Silas Math Team?” They feel themselves going a bright red, “Uh, no. What is that exactly?” Miss Carlson’s face doesn’t soften but stays tight and quite cruel-looking, “A group of students from every grade. They represent Silas High at different Math competitions across the state.”  
LaF smiles shyly, “That’s great, Miss Carlson, but I don’t think I’d fit in very well.” Miss Carlson purses her lips, raises her eyebrows and reaches into her blazer pocket, taking out a small notepad. She scribbles something down on it before folding it up and placing it on their desk. “Think about it.” She says, tapping the piece of paper and walking away. LaFontaine raises their eyebrows and unfolds the piece of paper. “’ _room 121, every mon & wed 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm_’”  
LaF shrugs and shoves the piece of paper in their pocket before turning back around to talk to Perry.

 _Maybe it won’t be that bad. Right?_  
  
  
                                                                                                                                  * * *  
  
“Okay. But, seriously,” Danny says, standing up from the edge of her bed and moving to the side of her room. Kirsch had always wondered _why_ she had a huge whiteboard there. She said it was for Summer Soc planning. _Who knew someone could have so much dedication towards a high school club._ She grabs a board pen and starts drawing a pretty accurate doodle of their gym teacher, Mr Andrews. She over-accentuates his large nose and his even larger beer belly. Kirsch laughs and stands up, “Toss me the pen, Lawrence.”  
She throws the pen over to him and he catches it in his hand, walking over to her and drawing an image beside hers. Danny laughs when she realises _what_ he’s actually drawing. She wipes tears from her eyes and continues to laugh as he finishes his doodle. He moves away from the board, a proud look on his face.  
His doodle shows their gym teacher, passed out on their school’s track, around fifty cheeseburgers lying around him and drool coming out of his mouth. Danny punches Kirsch’s arm and laughs, “You’re quite the artist, idiot.”  
He faux scowls at her and laughs, “Why do your compliments sound like insults?” “Because they’re not compliments.” Danny replies. He raises his hand and flicks here right between her eyes, “You’re gonna pay for that, dumbass!” Danny shouts, pushing him onto her bed. He laughs as she swats him with a shirt she found lying on her floor.  
“Ouch!” He laughs, trying to push her away, “You really _are_ a psycho, psycho!” She stops swatting him and rolls her eyes, “Out of 100,000 sperm, you were the fastest? I’m finding that _really_ hard to believe.” He scowls at her, “Bitch.” “Jerk.”  
He looks down at the floor and smiles, because if she ever saw him smile like that, he’d never hear the end of it.  
 _Not that I’d mind,_ he thinks.  
  
                                                                                                                                  * * *  
  
“This is nice,” Perry smiles, nesting her head deeper into LaF’s chest. Perry loved spending time with LaFontaine. Not that they were ever apart but, she still enjoyed it. She thinks back to the time when she came out to LaFontaine. It was quite a… _Interesting_ , day. LaF had been openly out for quite a while now. Both about their sexuality, and their gender identity. Perry sighs and shuts her eyes.  
 _I wish I could have the guts to do that._  
They’re so brave.  
I’m so lucky to have them-  
“Babe? You okay?” LaFontaine asks her, stroking Perry’s hair slightly. She smiles and looks up at them, “What? Oh, yeah. I’m fine. I just-” Before she can carry on, there’s a knock on the door. Perry jumps out of LaF’s lap, moving away from them before answering, “Come in!” “Hello Perry. I didn’t know we had company?” Perry’s father says as he walks in, “Hi there, Little LaF.” He says, waving at them.  
 _He had called them that ever since they were 5._  
She smiles, and LaFontaine grins at Perry’s father, “Not so little anymore, Mr Perry.” He smiles and nods at Perry, “Dinner in five, kiddo,” he turns back to LaFontaine, “You’re more than welcome to stay.” LaFontaine grins again, “That’d be great, sir. Thanks.” He nods at them both before leaving the room and closing the door behind him. Perry sighs and turns to face them, “I’m so sorry, I just-” LaF stops her, “It’s fine. You’re not ready, I understand. But I’m sure your parents would understand.” Perry closes her eyes and rubs at her face, “Sweetie, I don’t think you understand _how_ two-faced my parents are.”  
LaFontaine shrugs and taps their lap, gesturing for Perry to come over. Perry obliges and lays her head back down on LaFontaine’s chest. Perry tries not to think about her parents in a bad way, but sometimes it was hard not to. She thinks back to the day where LaFontaine’s parents had personally told Perry’s parents about LaFontaine’s sexuality/gender identity. Perry’s parents were accepting to their faces, and were wonderful around LaFontaine, but their opinions got the better of them when it was just them and Perry.  
 _Maybe they can change?_  
 _Who knows, maybe they’ll accept you for who you are?_  
Perry thinks about past comments her parents have made about gay people and mentally laughs.  
 _Oh, right._  
 _Yeah, no acceptance from them anytime soon._  
  
                                                                                                                                  * * *  
  
“So, you made friends with Laura, huh?” He asks his sister. She looks up from her book and frowns, “How do _you_ know who Laura is?” He shrugs, “The guy who showed me around today’s one of her friends.” “Sounds like a whole _barrel_ of fun.” Will rolls his eyes and sighs, “Are you gonna speak to her again?” She doesn’t bother to look up from her book this time, “Doubtful.”  
He groans, “ _Carmilla._ You can’t keep _doing_ this. Let yourself adjust-” she drops her book on his bed and sits up, “I don’t _want_ to adjust, okay? So just drop it.” “Is this about Elle..?” “I said, _drop it._ ” He sighs and slumps down in his desk chair, turning around to face his computer.  
A few minutes pass before he speaks up again, “Do you know what we’re having for dinner?” He can feel her shrug before she speaks, “Byron and Irina left a note. Something about working late. They left money for takeout.” He sighs again, “You _could_ refer to them as Mom and Dad...” “No chance.”  
He sighs again and goes back to his computer.  
 _Help me out, Carmilla._  
Stop shutting everyone out.

  
  
  
  


  
   
   
   
 


	2. Walking Backwards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 - Walking Backwards  
> It's all fun and games when you have to do an AP Lit and Comp project on Romeo & Juliet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Misgendering, Drug Mention.

“Okay, okay. Settle down, class. Chill out. _Relax_ ,” Mr Kern shouts across the class. He clears his throat once everyone is silent, “Okay, shitboxes. Today, I’m giving you a group assignment. You’re all lucky enough to be doing a project on, you guessed it, Romeo & Juliet.” The whole class groans and he shushes us, “ _As I was saying_ , I’ve put all your names into this hat,” He says, raising a hat in the air and shaking it a little, “Each of you will come on up here, pick out a name, and find that person. Once you have found that person, you will create a schedule with them, because that person is going to be your best friend for the next month. You will meet with them at least three times a week to work on your project.”  
The class groans again and Laura groans too, because she already has a busy schedule, plus, who knows who she’ll be put with?  
 _What if we don’t get along?  
_ She sighs, shaking the thought from her head, because there’s no point in stressing out over a stupid project. “And remember, kids. This project counts for 60% of your grade. So don’t fuck up!” Her breath catches in her throat.  
 _Okay, maybe I should stress out._  
  
                                                                                                               * * *

“Miss Karnstein, would you like to come up here and pick first. Since you look _so_ eager?” Mr Kern asks. She rolls her eyes and stands, “No, sir, I wouldn’t _like_ to. But I’m assuming you’re going to make me do it anyways, right?” He nods and she walks to the front of the class, shoving her hand in the bag and pulling a piece of paper out.  
 _Let’s hope it’s someone who won’t actually care about this project._  
She unfolds the piece of paper and groans, “Famous last words.”  
She scans the room and finds her, shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath before walking over to her, “Guess you’re in luck, cupcake.” She says, sitting down beside the girl.  
 _Laura Hollis._  
Laura smiles, “Oh, thank _God._ I’m so glad it’s you. I thought I was going to get someone who I wouldn’t get along with at all, and that wouldn’t be good, because I mean, 60% of our grade? Yikes-” Carmilla stares at her blankly and she can see Laura’s face turning a bright pink, “Sorry, rambling. Again.” Carmilla laughs a little, “So, about this schedule. We can uh, go to my house if you want. It’s almost always empty and my parents wouldn’t care.” Laura smiles and nods, “Sure. Sounds great. I’m free Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, if that works for you?”  
Carmilla nods, writing _‘mon, wed, fri’_ down on her hand.  
 _Looks like I’m not getting rid of this one._  
  
The bell rings and Carmilla immediately stands up, piling her books into her bag. Before leaving the classroom, she grabs her notebook out of her bag, scribbling down her number onto a clean page and tearing it out of the book. She turns to Laura and hands her the piece of paper, “Meet me in the parking lot at the end of the day.” Laura barely gets out an “Okay!” before Carmilla turns and walks out of the classroom, plugging in her earphones and drowning out the world. Two seconds later, she gets a text.  
  
 **Unknown:** _hey, its laura. just so you know its me :)_  
  
She sighs, saving the number in her phone as “Creampuff”.  
  
                                                                                                            * * *

“Uh, hello?” LaFontaine says, poking their head through the door of room 121. It was 3:00 pm on the dot. After around about a minute, they’re greeted by a guy. He’s definitely their age, but _way_ taller, at least 6ft. (They were used to being the shorter person. Especially since they’re friends with Kirsch and Danny). He’s wearing a black and red bomber jacket, with the words _Silas Math Squad_ embroidered on the back. His afro was neatly cut and his glasses made his eyes look like two huge marbles.  
He holds his hand out, “JP Armitage. But you can just call me JP.” They grin at him and take his hand, “LaFontaine. But you can call me LaF, if you want.” He nods and smiles, “Nice to meet you, LaF.” LaF smiles, “Oh, by the way, my preferred pronouns are they, them and their.”  
JP smiles, “Thanks for letting me know.” He says before showing them around the room and introducing them to different people.  
“Guys, this is LaFontaine. They’re a new member of the SMS so be nice to them!” The people nod and laugh before he carries on introducing them. He turns to a girl who is quite possibly shorter than LaF.  
 _That’s a first._  
“LaF, this is Natalie. She’s a Sophomore,” LaF smiles and waves at her. She nods in response, smiling slightly. JP moves on to another person. This girl is almost as tall as JP. “This is Betty Spielsdorf. Genuine child genius who gives herself _way_ too much credit, if I say so myself.” Betty rolls her eyes but smiles, “Nice to meet you, LaF. Make yourself at home.” LaF nods and smiles before JP introduces them to one last person, “And last but not least is S.J.”  
LaFontaine feels their stomach drop.  
S.J looks at them before turning to JP, “LaFontaine is joining us?” He looks confused, “Yeah, why?” She sighs and looks back to LaFontaine, “Nice to see you again, LaFontaine. It’s been…” “A while.” LaFontaine finishes.  
LaFontaine feels awful even looking at her, let alone speaking to her and being in a competitive team with her. Sarah-Jane really hurt Kirsch and LaFontaine doesn’t take a liking to people who hurt their friends. But they weren’t going to let some stupid feud get in the way of this, because so far, they were enjoying this.  
 _Whatever this is._  
JP looks between them before cutting in, “Any who, LaFontaine, since you’re a new member of our group, we’d like to officially welcome you into the Silas Math Squad, by giving you an honorary SMS jacket.”  
LaFontaine grins, “You’re fucking with me, right?” JP laughs in return, “Hell no I’m not.” He runs into a closet at the back of the room, rummaging around in there before he exits, holding a (shockingly) neatly folded bomber jacket, identical to his, “This is _so_ cool.” They say, pulling it on.  
“Well, enjoy it. We have a competition this Saturday. Silas High VS Warwick High.” His brow furrows before he runs back into the closet. He runs back out, holding a small binder, “This,” he says, handing the binder to LaFontaine, “Will be your bible for the rest of Senior year. It contains information on every competition we have coming up, and what to study for each one. Oh, and everyone’s phone numbers. Just in case you need us. So get reading, pal.”  
LaF looks down at the binder, before looking up and smiling, “ _Great_.”  
JP laughs and LaFontaine feels welcome. They feel like they belong, and honestly? It’s a great feeling.  
 _Maybe Senior year won’t be as bad as I thought it’d be._

                                                                                                                           * * *

“Are we _seriously_ going to see a movie called _Honeymoon_?” Kirsch says, walking beside Danny. Danny doesn't reply and Kirsch groans, “Lawrence? Are you _seriously_ taking me to see a _chick flick_? Or is this some sick joke?” Danny sighs, massaging the bridge of her nose, “ _Honeymoon_ is a horror, asshole. You know I hate chick flicks as much as you do.”  
“So are you taking me to see a horror so that you can hold onto me when you get scared?” Danny slaps his arm, “No, loser. I’m taking you to see a horror because there were no other movies that looked remotely good. Plus, I wasn’t going to stoop low enough to watch _The Boxtrolls_.”  
Kirsch pouts, “The Boxtrolls is pretty good, though.” Danny rolls her eyes and drags him into the theater, “Come on, loser.”  
  
20 minutes into the film and _shockingly_ , Kirsch still won’t shut up.  
 _What a surprise._  
“I’m bored.”  
 _I swear to God._  
“Will you play a game with me?”  
 _This boy will be the end of me._  
“Danny _please_ -” “Jesus, fine, what game do you want to play?” Kirsch grins and Danny rolls her eyes, “What about the rating game!” Danny frowns, “Are you serious? That game is ridiculously degrading, and it goes against every aspect of the term ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’.” Kirsch groans, “We’re not judging them as people. We’re just checking them out. Come on!” She groans, "Fine."  
“Stop talking!” someone shouts at them from a few rows down. They both break out in giggles, earning a few more dirty looks from people around them. Neither of them are paying attention to the movie now, as they look around at the different people in the theater, “Okay. Over there. Brunette, glasses.” Danny says, nodding towards a girl to their right. Kirsch frowns, “3. I don’t dig brunettes anymore.”  
Danny knows why, but she doesn't bring it up.  
 _S.J. Fucking bitch._  
Danny had always hated Sarah-Jane. But after she completely stomped on Kirsch’s heart, she hated her even more. Kirsch was an ass, everyone knew that, (Danny _definitely_ knew that) but he did _not_ deserve what S-J did. “I give her a 2.” Danny says. Kirsch smiles at her before scanning the room for more girls.  
 _Yeah, he’s a jerk._  
B _ut he's a lovable jerk._  
She mentally scolds herself for describing Kirsch as lovable before carrying on with the game.

                                                                                                               * * *

“So, I thought, maybe instead of going to my house, we could go to this bookstore? I mean, uh, it’s pretty cool and everything. It has all the stuff we’ll need for the project, and it’s actually kind of peaceful.” Carmilla says, walking down the street, Laura trailing behind her, “I’ve never taken you as the ‘peaceful’ kind of person.” Laura says, smiling. Carmilla smiles back, “Way to judge a book by its cover, creampuff. You’ve known me for a total of eight days and you’re already passing such solid judgement? Shame on you.”  
Laura laughs and Carmilla smiles. Laura liked Carmilla. She was different to her friends. Not in a bad way, and not in a better-than-them type of way, either.  
But she was different in a good way.  
 _A new way.  
_ Laura considers referring to Carmilla as ‘Carm’ before an idea comes to her. _  
_“You know, you’re right. I barely know anything about you to pass judgement, so, how about we play a game?” Carmilla turns to look at her, shoving her hands in her pockets, “This sounds strangely like _Saw_. You’re not planning on making me go through some life-threatening obstacle course, are you?” Laura laughs nervously, “God, no. I was thinking more along the lines of the question game.” Carmilla frowns questioningly, “And that is?” “Well, I ask you a question, you don’t have to answer it, but whatever you do, you have to finish your sentence with a question. Got it, Carm?”  
 _Laura, it’s way too early for nicknames. What are you doing?_  
Carmilla smiles and shakes her head, “Sure thing, buttercup. You want to go first?”  
 _Thank God she didn’t say anything._  
“Okay. Uh,” Laura stops to think.  
 _Come on, Laura. One thing. It’s not that hard. I mean, you’ve already managed to create a nickname for someone you’ve only known for a week._  
“Your name. What’s the meaning behind your name?” Carmilla raises her eyebrows, “This is a pretty long winded story. You sure you want to hear it?” Laura nods, “You sure you want to tell me?”  
Carmilla laughs, brushing a hand through her hair before continuing, “Okay, so, my parents met when they were both, like, 10 years old or something. My dad’s family hated my mother’s family, and the same vice versa. I don’t know _why_ they did, but they did. So, anyways, the only way they’d be able to meet was in this orchard. Every day, they would meet in this orchard, just to be together. They even ended up getting married there.” “That’s a really beautiful story.” Laura says, staring up at Carmilla as they walk down the street. Carmilla smiles slightly before continuing, “Anyways, Carmilla means ‘garden’ or ‘orchard’ in Hebrew. It’s like some variant of another name, but, yeah. That’s the meaning behind my name,” Carmilla pauses for a moment, “Do I ask you a question now?”  
Laura nods making a mental note to change Carmilla’s name in her phone to ‘Carm’, “If you want to. Do you want to?”  
 _Ending everything you say with a question starts to get slightly annoying after a while._  
“Yeah. When the principal called you to his office, why did you freak out so much?”  
Laura looks shocked, “I can’t ruin a perfect record. I’ve literally never done anything wrong before. Like, _ever._ Why do you want to know?”  
Carmilla laughs, “I don’t know. You just seemed pretty spooked about getting in trouble. Was I wrong to ask?” Laura shakes her head, “Of course not. Uh, what’s your favourite colour?” Carmilla laughs and looks down at her outfit.  
She was wearing a black hoodie, with black ripped skinny jeans, “I should probably say black, but it’s actually purple. What’s yours?”  
“Yellow. How come you moved here?” Carmilla freezes. She stops walking and squeezes her eyes shut before opening them again and walking.  
 _What was that about?_  
“Uh, Carmilla?” No response. “Are you okay?”  
 _She looks like she’s in pain._  
“I’m fine.” Laura frowns, “Are you sure-” Carmilla snaps at her before she can carry on, “I said I’m fine.”  
Laura bites her lip and keeps walking.  
 _Way to screw this one up, Laura._ _Good one._

                                                                                                                   * * *

One awkward study session later and Carmilla’s back home, walking into her room and locking the door behind her.  
 _Way to freak out, Carmilla. Seriously, good one.  
_ She shakes her head, letting herself slide down against the door. She brings her knees up to her chest and rests her head on them.  
 _You were doing so well._  
How did you manage to freak out?  
Someone else mentions it and you freak.  
Stupid, stupid, stupid.  
She digs around in her pocket for her phone and checks the time. 7:30pm.  
Shutting her eyes, she pushes herself up, walking into her bathroom and opening her medicine cabinet, taking the small orange bottle out and opening it. She tips two pills into her hand and throws them into her mouth, swallowing them dry.  
She hears the sound of her phone and walks back into her room, lying down on her bed. She unlocks her phone to see she has a text.  
  
 **Creampuff:** _something i said must have set you off earlier, and im sorry. you dont have to talk about it, but im here if you need to x_  
  
She sighs, shutting her eyes and massaging the her forehead. Her phone makes another noise and she looks down at it.  
  
 **Creampuff:** _and im still up to play the question game if you are?_  
  
Carmilla manages a smile as she replies,  
  
 **Carm:** _ready when you are, cutie._  
  
                                                                                                                     * * *

“So, how was your day, sweetie?” Perry’s dad asks her. She plasters on a smile, “It was okay.”  
“Did you finish all of your homework?” Her mother asks. She nods in response.  
Her father turns to her mother, “Did you hear about David Rodriguez from across the street?” “No, what happened?”  
 _Here they go again._  
“Well, you know how I’ve never liked him, right?” Her mother nods, taking another bite of her food, “He’s always come across weird, plus, I’m pretty sure he was a druggie at some point. Well, he’s gone crazy. He’s turning himself into a woman.” Her mother’s jaw drops and Perry clenches her fists.  
 _She._  
“Seriously! He’s even getting surgery!”  
 _It’s she._  
Perry had always loved her parents. She does love them, but sometimes, she can’t handle them. She really can’t. They harshly judge everybody, and validate their opinions of these people from their judgements.  
“I always knew he was weird.” Her mother adds. Perry decides to cut in, “Wouldn’t it be she, then?”  
Her father looks at her, his brow furrowed, “What?” “I said, wouldn’t David like to be referred to as ‘she’ rather than ‘he’, considering she is a she.” Perry’s father rubs at his forehead, shutting his eyes, “Can’t we have _one_ good conversation without you having to be so socially correct?” Perry stops, pushing her chair back and putting her plate in the dishwasher before leaving the room.  
 _Yeah, because it must be me who ruins the conversations all the time._  
Obviously.  
  
                                                                                                                     * * *

“Day two of the Hollstein Romeo & Juliet Project!” Carmilla looks at her with a confused expression. “Okay, firstly: what the hell is a ‘Hollstein’. Secondly: _what?”_

Laura can feel her face going red, “Hollstein. It’s our names combined into one name.”  
“Wow, you’re _basically_ _Einstein_ for coming up with that one, Sundance.” Carmilla replies. Laura frowns, throwing a crumpled piece of paper at Carmilla. She ducks and Laura scowls at her. “Also, that face you make when you’re mad is _glorious_.” Laura frowns again, “What face?” “That face. You know. When you’re mad and you make that bunched up little face,” Laura keeps frowning at her and Carmilla laughs, “you’re _literally_ doing it right now.”  
Laura groans and pouts, leaning back against a bookcase. They were sitting in the bookstore Carmilla had taken her to on Monday. Carmilla had failed to mention that she had been working at this store for the past week. As soon as they’d walked in, they were greeted by a nice lady who introduced herself as Maria. Maria had then offered them cookies, which Laura graciously accepted.  
Laura hadn’t brought up what had happened the other day. Moving must be a difficult topic for Carmilla, and she really didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable. If Carmilla wanted to tell Laura whatever had set her off, then she would. In her own time. And Laura wouldn’t rush her, because really, it’s none of her business. And Laura wouldn’t want to pry.  
Carmilla goes to get another cookie. “Hey, cupcake, there’s one more cookie left. Want it?” Laura smiles and shakes her head, “It’s okay. You can have it if you want.”  
Carmilla shrugs, splitting the cookie in half and handing a half to Laura.  
Laura smiles and accepts it.  
 _Maybe this project won’t be so bad after all._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, guys!  
> This chapter (like every other chapter) was written by Erin, aka oblitero on Tumblr and @Erinhasfangs on Twitter.


	3. Invest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 - Invest  
> aka Hollstein are gross and how many times can Laura say "Oh, God" in one chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Abuse mention  
> Sorry for the ridiculously short chapter, but I had an awful case of the writer's block. I may not update as regularly this week because I have a huge exam I need to study for, but things should be back on track afterwards!

“Where you been lately, L? You’ve been M.I.A for the past week.” LaFontaine asks Laura. Laura groans, rubbing at her head, “Oh, _God_ , I know, I’m sorry. You must hate me. I’ve just been doing this project with Carm and-” _“Carm?”_ Before Laura can respond, someone walks into her. She looks up to see Carmilla. “Oh, God! Sorry, Carm! Are you okay?” Carmilla raises her eyebrows, rubbing at her shoulder, “Yeah. Just try not to break my arm next time you see me, Cupcake.” Laura laughs and immediately stops, “Oh!” She turns to LaFontaine, “LaF, this is Carm- Carm _illa._ This is Carmilla. I’m doing my Lit assignment with her.” LaFontaine smiles, “Hey.” Carmilla nods at them before turning back to Laura, “Hey so I have to go kill my brother but I’ll see you tonight?” Laura absentmindedly nods before her brow furrows, “Wait, why are you killing your brother?” Carmilla sighs, “The little brat stole my iPod. So I’m going to feed him his spleen.” “Hey, if you ever need access to any probing devices or needles, I’m your person.” Lafontaine cuts in, handing her their business card. Carmilla takes the card, reading it before raising both her eyebrows and shoving it into her pocket, “I’ll keep that in mind-” Laura’s face flushes, “LaF! Jesus, come on- See ya, Carm.” Laura says, dragging LaFontaine away, Carmilla laughing behind them. 

“I like her, but she totally looks like an extra from The Vampire Diaries. Like, seriously L, even _I’m_ not that pale.” LaFontaine says. Laura laughs, “You’re crazy. Come on, we’re going to be late.” LaFontaine shrugs and Laura sighs.  
 _Okay, maybe you shouldn’t introduce your friends to Carm just yet._

                                               * * *

“I’m sorry for earlier. Y’know, with walking into you and- _Oh God. LaFontaine._ I’m going to kill them-” Laura starts but Carmilla just laughs, “Chill out, cutie. They seem pretty cool.” Laura smiles at Carmilla and she feels her face flush.  
 _Calm down, Carmilla._  
“But no, seriously, you should probably burn that card or something-” Laura starts but once again, Carmilla stops her, “And why’s that, buttercup? Scared I’m actually going to use it?” She raises an eyebrow and Laura laughs, “Well, as you said the other day, I’ve only known you for two weeks now. Maybe I shouldn’t be so quick to judgements… _However_.” They both laugh and a guy from the corner of the room groans. Carmilla rolls her eyes, “This is a community bookstore, numb nuts. Take a hike if you don’t like it.” The guy looks shocked and Laura can’t help the giggle that escapes her.  
 _What a dork._

                                                                    * * *

“I just realised how gross we are.” LaF says before Perry pulls them back in for another kiss. They were both currently at LaFontaine’s house, so they could do _whatever they wanted._  
 _Well, with boundaries, of course.  
_ “What do you mean?” Perry replies as she comes up for air before lowering her head down onto LaFontaine’s neck, biting, and _definitely_ leaving marks. Their breath hitches and Perry continues. “W-Well, we’re just,” Perry continues to suck on the same spot on LaFontaine’s neck and they pause before continuing, “We’re like the grossest, dorkiest couple… Ever.” Perry nods, lifting her head up to look into Lafontaine’s eyes. “You know I love you, right?” “I’d be slightly concerned if you didn’t.” they both laugh and continue with their make out session.

                                                                   * * *

“10-6! Come on, Kirsch! What’s wrong with you today?!” Danny asks, bouncing the ball and throwing it over Kirsch’s head. It miraculously lands in the net and she cheers. Kirsch growls, grabbing the ball and throwing it at the wall. Danny takes a step back, “Jesus, Kirsch. Sore loser much-” “Not now, Lawrence. Seriously, not now.”   
_Stop being such an asshole._  
Danny frowns and walks towards him, “What, uh, are you okay?”   
_No, no I’m not. I’m really not._  
He turns to face her, his face incredulous, “What do you think?” She raises her hands in mock surrender, “I was only trying to be nice.”   
_I know, and I’m sorry, I just have a lot on my plate right now, and-  
_ “Yeah, well, stop,” Kirsch grabs his phone and checks the time. 05:54pm. He grabs his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder, “I have to, uh, go. I’ll see you later or something.” “Whatever.” Danny heads into her house as Kirsch walks off of her driveway.  
 _So much for not acting like an asshole. How many people are you gonna piss off today, Kirsch?_

“Mom, I’m home-” “She’s in bed. Where were you?” Kirsch freezes in his doorway, tempted to walk back out.  
 _No. You can’t leave her._   
“I was just, uh, playing basketball.” Kirsch replies. He walks into the living room to see him, sitting in his arm chair. The TV was turned off, and he had a half-empty beer bottle in his hand, “With that Lawrence kid?” Kirsch nods, “Speak up, boy!” His father shouts.  
Kirsch winces, “Yes.” He nods slightly, “Your mom’s not, _feeling_ too well. Go make dinner and make sure you have it ready by 7.” He didn’t need to add an “or else.” Kirsch already knew what the or else was.  
He walks into the kitchen, opening cupboard after cupboard. There wasn’t many things to choose from, so he decided to go for the ready-made mac and cheese in a box. He thinks back to earlier this morning and cringes at the thought. Kirsch was speaking to his sister over Skype. Ever since she had left home to go live in New York (which was around 3 hours away by car, thank _God_ ) with her boyfriend, she had been asking Kirsch to join her.  
 _To keep me safe._  
And time after time, he had declined the offer. Not because he didn’t want to go, because, well, anywhere was better than here, but there was one thing keeping him here.  
His mother. He couldn’t leave his mother even if he tried.   
_Not with dad, anyways._  
He pours the mixture into a bowl, adding some hot water over it. Kirsch’s father had been very angry when Jane had left home, therefore forbidding Kirsch and his mother from speaking to her. When Kirsch’s father found out that he had been talking to Jane behind his back, he turned the internet off and locked him in his room.   
_‘You ungrateful fuck! Don’t you dare leave that goddamned room or I swear to God!’_  
Then a slap.  
Then a cry from his mother.  
He shuts his eyes, grabbing onto the counter to steady himself.   
“What’s taking so long, boy? I haven’t got all day!” his father shouts from the other room. “Coming!” Kirsch shouts back. Before Kirsch can take the bowl into the living room, he feels a vibration from his pocket. He quickly checks his phone to see that he has a text from Danny.  
  
 **Summer Psycho:** _Hey, did I say something earlier? I mean, I hope you’re okay  
_ **Summer Psycho:** _Not that I care or anything.  
_ **Kirsch:** _hey no its fine. sorry for acting like a jerk. totally not cool  
_ **Summer Psycho:** _You’re forgiven. But only on the grounds that you play me again._  
 **Kirsch:** _deal_

                                                                       * * *  
 _Who would have thought Thursday nights would be so boring?_  
The week had been pretty standard. Monday and Wednesday, Carmilla and Laura added to their project. ‘Adding to their project’ was also code for watching cat vines for about two hours on Laura’s phone. Carmilla laughs at the thought before unlocking her phone. She scrolls through her texts.  


 **Carm:** _Hey cupcake, I kinda made more notes on the project. I was just wondering if you wanted to check them out or not_  
  


Ten minutes, and Laura still hadn’t replied. Not that Carmilla was counting or anything, it’s just that, this girl usually replies .01 seconds after receiving a text. Carmilla shrugs before tossing her phone to the end of her bed. Five minutes later, she gets an idea. She sighs as she reaches for her bag, rummaging through until she finds it. ‘ _LaFontaine, Biology Extraordinaire._ ’ It says in bold font. She looks to the bottom of the card to find their number. She rubs at her forehead as she dials the number into her phone.  
 _“You’ve reached LaFontaine, Biology Extraordinaire, how may I assist you?”_ She immediately regrets her decision but continues anyway, “Jesus Christ. I’m not even going to make a comment on whatever the hell that was. Where’s Laura?” _“She’s at work, why?”_ They ask questioningly. She rolls her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose, “And where’s that?”  
 _“Uh, like, the only Starbucks in town.”_ Carmilla bites her lip so that she doesn’t laugh.  
 _Laura?  
Working at Starbucks?  
I have got to see this. _  
“Thanks, annoying one.” She says. She hears LaFontaine curse before she ends the call, “Shit, I wasn’t meant to tell you that-”  
She grabs her hoodie and pulls it over her head before shoving her phone into her back pocket and slinging her backpack over her shoulder.  
She walks to Will’s room, knocking on the door. “What?” He calls from inside. She narrows her eyes and leans against the door, “I’m going out. I’ll be back at none-of-your-business-o’clock.” She can tell that he’s rolling his eyes as he responds, “Okay, have fun injecting yourself with heroin.” She scowls at the door, “You’re funny,” she deadpans, “Don’t be jealous of the fact that I actually _have_ a social life, little brother.”  
She hears him growl as she leaves the house, laughing and slamming the door shut behind her.  
 _This should be fun._

 

                                                                   * * *

Laura checks her watch. 4:30pm.   
_Thank God. Just thirty more minutes.  
_ She leans down against the counter, doodling something on a sticky note when she hears a familiar voice, “Hey, could I have a black coffee please?” Laura looks up, her eyes wide and she can already feel her face turning an unnatural shade of red. “I am going to _kill_ LaFontaine.” Laura says, staring at the dark haired girl with a smirk on her face stood before her.   
“Jimmy, I’m taking my break now. Cover for me!” Laura shouts, stepping behind the counter and untying the string at the back of her apron. “No, no, keep it on, cutie.” Laura scowls as Carmilla’s grin gets wider. “Wipe that shit-eating little grin off your face, Karnstein.” Laura says, not bothering to untie her apron. She does, however, take off her employee hat. “And here I am, coming to visit my friend, to speak with her, to _be with her_ , and _this_ is how you repay me? Fine, Hollis. Just fine.” Laura laughs and shoves her, “Go sit down over there you loser.” “As you wish.” She replies, sitting in the booth beside the large window. Laura joins her shortly, sighing as she sits opposite her friend. Carmilla is the first to speak, “Are you embarrassed or something?”   
Laura shrugs, “No, I just, the only reason LaFontaine knows where I work is because they came in one day while it _happened_ to be my shift. Pure coincidence. I guess I just don’t like people knowing because, I mean, who wants to work at Starbucks?” Carmilla nods, “Well, if it’s any consolation, I think you look adorable in that uniform, cupcake.” Laura smiles at Carmilla’s comment and brushes a hand through her hair, “Oh God, you’re _hilarious.”_ Laura laughs and Carmilla smiles, “No, seriously! I may be sarcastic at least ninety-nine percent of the time-” “Only ninety-nine?” “Don’t push it, Hollis. As I was _saying_ , I may be sarcastic _at least_ ninety-nine percent of the time, but I am being _completely_ serious right now. You have my word.”   
Laura feels her face heat up and changes the subject, “So, uh, can I ask why you’re here? I mean, not that I don’t want you here, it’s great having you here, but it’s a bit out of the blue considering Thursdays aren’t our study days and-” Carmilla places her hand on top of Laura’s and Laura stops immediately, “Cupcake, breathe. Like, seriously, _breathe_. I came because I made a few extra notes and, plus, I was bored, so. Is this, a, uh, problem?”   
Laura can still feel Carmilla’s hand on top of hers. Carmilla glances down at their hands and moves hers to her head, scratching the back of it.   
“No, no! It’s no problem at all. You can, uh, come here more often, if you want. Just as long as you’re okay with watching me work for a while. I only get one break, so.” A weight seems to be lifted off of Carmilla’s shoulders when Laura says this and she laughs, “Well, I mean, I already have to spend three days a week with you, so maybe four would be pushing my limits slightly-” “ _Carm!_ ” “I’m kidding!” Laura stands up, flicking Carmilla’s shoulder as she does, “You still want that coffee?” “Sure thing, Buttercup.” Her friend drawls.   
Laura can’t help but roll her eyes as she walks away, tugging her hat back onto her head and slipping behind the counter. Carmilla follows her and goes to lean on the counter, “So, why do you even work here? Aren’t you busy? I mean, from what you’ve told me, you get _a lot_ of homework.” Carmilla asks, picking at one of the stickers attached to the counter. Laura shrugs, “We need the extra money at home. Ever since-” Laura stops herself, because as much as she likes Carmilla, and she does, she _really_ does (she feels like she can tell her anything) she doesn’t think she’s ready to talk about _that_ yet. She can barely talk about it with the friends she’s known for ten years, _let alone-_ “You alright there, cupcake?” Carmilla snaps Laura out of her daydream and Laura rubs at the back of her neck, “What? No, yeah. I’m fine. Here’s your coffee.” She says, handing Carmilla the Styrofoam cup. Carmilla accepts it with a small ‘thank you’ before pulling some money out of her pockets. Laura stops her, “Don’t worry. It’s on me.” Carmilla frowns and shoves the money into the tip jar instead.  
Carmilla smirks as she drinks her coffee, “Mm. Black. Just like my soul.” She says and Laura can’t help the laughter that erupts from her.  
 _This girl will be the end of me._

                                                                               * * *

“Have I caught you at a bad time?” Carmilla says, pressing her phone against her ear with her shoulder as she grips the pan in front of her, flipping (or trying to flip) the pancake that was cooking in the pan, _“Like-”_ Carmilla hears a punching sound and frowns. Laura was panting down the phone and Carmilla really isn’t sure what her friend is actually doing right now, _“I’m just,”_ another punch, _“At kickboxing.”_ She finishes. Carmilla hears the sound of Velcro being ripped apart before Laura comes back on the line _“Sorry. Yeah, kickboxing. I was just finishing up. Did you need anything?”  
Come on, Carmilla. You may as well. You have nothing better to do. Just ask her-_  
“Firstly, you do kickboxing? Secondly, I was, uh, I was just wondering if you wanted to go see a movie or something, but you sound busy so-” Laura stops her, _“Yes, I do! And no, no, it’s fine! What time?”_ Carmilla almost hits herself for grinning when she hears Laura’s response, “Uh, I could come and pick you up or?” Carmilla can hear Laura’s smile as she speaks and can’t help but laugh slightly because this girl is _ridiculous,_ “ _Yeah, sure. I’ll text you my address. I just need to clean up and stuff. Just to let you know, my dad isn’t much of a talker.”_ She says the last sentence with a laugh, but it was hollow. “That’s fine. Text me when you’re ready, Creampuff.” Laura laughs, _“Okay, bye!”  
Well done, Karnstein. You managed to _ not _fuck something up for once._

 

                                                                        * * *

“You know what’s _completely_ ridiculous?” They say, playing with Perry’s hair, “What?” She replies, not really paying that much attention. They were both currently watching Catfish, and for some reason, Perry always seemed to become entranced whilst watching stuff like that. LaF rolls their eyes and smiles, “Nothing, babe.” They rest their chin on Perry’s head and they can feel her falling asleep on them, “Babe, it’s only 2:45. In the _afternoon_. Why are you so tired?” Perry’s head jolts up and she rubs at her eyes. “Babe, _please_ don’t tell me you spent your Friday afternoon cleaning again.” “The house was dirty! I can’t just leave it in a mess, LaFontaine.” LaF rolls their eyes before playing with Perry’s hair again, “You only clean when you’re stressed. What’s wrong?” Perry shrugs and sighs, turning around to face them, “Can we just sit and watch Catfish. Together. Please?” LaFontaine frowns but obliges, shifting so that Perry can get comfortable again.  
They press a kiss on the top of her head and hug her tightly, “I’m here if you need anything.” Perry nods and they go back to watching Catfish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, guys!  
> This chapter (like every other chapter) was written by Erin, aka oblitero on Tumblr and @Erinhasfangs on Twitter.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, guys!  
> This chapter (like every other chapter) was written by Erin, aka oblitero on Tumblr and @Erinhasfangs on Twitter.  
> 


End file.
